5 Things You Didn't Know: DNA

It's inside all of us, telling us how to behave, how to function and how to grow. It's your deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and it contains the genetic instructions that essentially make you who you are. Just in the last decade alone, our use and manipulation of DNA has skyrocketed. We now have genetically modified foods and microorganisms, genetic testing for disease and we even know the full sequence of the human genome — all attributable to DNA. However, with such power comes controversy. Did you know that the human genome was almost commercialized? Well it was — almost. Here’s a little more on that story, and a few other things you likely didn’t know about our double-helix friend, DNA.

1- The human genome was almost commercialized

Most are not aware, but the project to sequence the human genome (all of the DNA a human possesses) was a vicious race that pitted public interests versus private. The public arm of the race was lead by the Human Genome Project (HGP), an international consortium of scientists and researchers working at a price tag of a mere $3 billion U.S. The project began in 1990, and was expected to reach completion in 15 years. There were, however, complications.

In 1998, a privately funded quest was launched by J. Craig Venter, president of Celera Genomics. Working on a budget of only $300 million, Celera's effort was projected to proceed faster than the HGP — a notion that enraged leaders of the public project, especially when Celera’s intentions were made clear. Celera announced that it would seek patent protection on specific genes, and would not permit free distribution of the human genome to public databases. Instead, they planned to harbor a separate database on their private website, and charge for any analyses requested by external researchers.

The announcement by Celera sent leaders of the HGP into a frenzy. With both teams in a bid to win the race, dueling media reports began to emerge. A progress update would be released by one party, and then the claim would be disputed by the other. After several failed partnerships, the two teams managed to release their results almost simultaneously in February of 2000, citing that the race sped up the project, to everyone's benefit.

2- DNA testing is used to authenticate foods like caviar

Who knew that the caviar industry was so ripe with mystery, excitement and illegal activity? It’s likely that most have no idea. The choice delicacy of the affluent, caviar has for years been regulated worldwide by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (C.I.T.E.S.). C.I.T.E.S. has closely monitored stocks of caviar coming from the Caspian Sea — the body of water responsible for some 90% of the world’s caviar — in an effort to protect endangered species, particularly sturgeon caviar. As a result, DNA testing has become a staple method of authentication to ensure that incoming caviar is properly labeled and legitimate. However, quite often, testing of the DNA yields an unfortunate result.

Find out how you can afford your own DNA testing and how it helps the justice system...